This is something I loved writing and it takes off from A tree. A rock. A cloud by Carson McCullers. I would request you to please read that in order to understand this story better...
*********
I
The cells of the zygote were fast dividing & differentiating…soon, a new living,
breathing organism came into existence…& waited for the right moment to announce its
arrival to the world.
For the next few days, it stayed dormant, drawing from its abundant food reserves &
hungrily lapping up the rainwater, surviving & waiting…just waiting & waiting…
Finally, after days of continuous rain, the rim of the red-pink sun peeked out over the
horizon, bringing with it a new dawn.
The first golden rays of the sun nudged the sleeping creature lazily. It yawned, sniffed in
the fresh early morning air & pleased with it, peeked out of its bed. At last, it was ready
to reveal its existence to the world & as it took its first baby steps into the big, bad
world, it was met with a wonderful sight…before it, stretched out the valley, bathed in
shadow & sunlight, & behind it, the hill rose high into the sky, almost touching the
infinite heavens…
The Creature was intrigued & shouting out to its cousin, two fields beyond, it asked,
“Who’s He, oh sister? The one who looms over us, like the devil?”
The Sister’s sweet, experienced voice filled the valley, “He is the Guardian Hill, oh
newborn! He is to be feared & respected above all in the valley. One shake of His can
uproot several of our colonies, it’s true. But, what’s also true is that it is He who
protects us from the wrath of the Wild West Wind, the devourer of Valley members!”
“And He…Who’s He that is so stooped & twisted?”enquired The Creature.
“That, child, is Old Man Banyan,” replied the Sister, amused at the naïve curiosity of the
newest addition to the Valley Family, “He provides food & lodging to several of our
brothers & sisters, free of cost so that he may be able to live his last years in the joy of
having constant company!”
The Creature was amazed & its hunger to know more grew. Every day, it would ask
Sister about various members of the Valley Family & she would faithfully answer all his
questions, all except one, that is…
II
One fine day, when The Creature had turned much older, it shouted, “oh Informative
sister…where is Brother Peacock today? Why hasn’t he come out yet to spread his
wings & dance in the rain? Sister…oh, sister, why are you not replying to my questions?
Sister...sister...”
But Sister was afraid…afraid & unsure…on one hand, she knew why Brother Peacock
hadn’t come out, but on the other hand, she was sure that it wasn’t the right time yet to
tell The Creature about it. So she chose to remain silent…hoping that The Creature’s
curiosity wouldn’t lead it to the same fate as that of Brother Peacock & so many
others…
Days passed & The Creature’s curiosity grew. It wondered…about Brother Peacock
who hadn’t shown up despite the ceaseless rains…about the unusual absence of
Sister’s chirpy voice…& also, about the new She-Creature who’d been born & brought
up in the neighboring field!
The Creature was aware of a new awakening, a new consciousness within itself.
It talked to Little Cousin Mouse about it, initially shy to reveal its feelings about the
She-Creature but gradually warming up to the subject.
“You are on the threshold of reproductive maturity, oh shy one! What you are feeling is
what each of us feels, it is what causes us to be able to receive only certain, & not all,
gametes to carry forward our kin…this chemical imbalance is called ‘Love’, oh innocent
one!” revealed Little Cousin Mouse.
“Love!” whispered The Creature, feeling a growing happiness, a strange excitement
within itself.
“Yes, love…Oh! I must go now, oh young one, my love is calling me! All the best with
yours!”
Months passed…
The Creature felt itself going through a very critical phase of its life.
It found itself waiting for the rains, just so that it could get washed & hence, could feel
fresh & new.
It would feel Her presence even while dreaming & felt that it was only its roots that kept
it from approaching her.
But it decided that it would wait…wait till it became good enough for her, deserving of
her. It wanted time to pass as quickly as possible so that it could grow fast & reach the
maturity required for its love to prosper.
If only time could have slowed down, or even stopped…if only…
III
Sister Sparrow felt a strange uneasiness within herself, which dis-enabled her from giving
out her usual morning call. She felt worried, only she wasn’t able to pinpoint the cause
or reason for it.
And then, she spotted him…he who was a part of those whom she & the other valley
creatures feared the most…
The Creature turned towards the sun, breathing in the fresh morning smell, gratefully
feeling the sunlight on itself after days of rain.
The man thankfully sat down under the old banyan tree, tired after his long walk up the
valley from the city. Mopping up the sweat from his brow, he looked up, gazing at the
thick & lush canopy that filtered the harshness of the sunlight to a much softer green. He
breathed in the cool, fresh air, thinking of her…of his Dodo…what had he done to
deserve all this, he wondered. He, who’d always loved her so passionately, so
selflessly…
“Damn it!” he exclaimed angrily, “to hell with it, Dodo. I shall destroy that which you
loved the most just like how you destroyed me. I’ll call it my ‘Science’ of love…I’ll
show you & all of them who talked about me, about us…as if it’s that easy to forget, to
forgive…I’ll show you…you!”
It was in such a frame of mind that the man spotted The Creature, who looked peaceful,
fresh & new in the early morning sunshine…the exact opposite of what the man was
feeling…
He went to sit next to it, admiring its youthful flexibility as it danced in the cool breeze.
“Yes!” he said, “I shall have you. You are just perfect, exactly like how Dodo would've
liked. I shall have you…yes, I shall have you!” The Creature, who uptil now had been
looking at this unknown organism with detached curiosity, saw him with an awakened
interest. “Have me…what does he mean by it?” wondered The Creature, “Is he going to
make me meet ‘her’…I wonder…”
The man got up, looking for an appropriate object…he spotted one nearby – a sharp
branch. He picked it up & walked slowly, purposefully towards The Creature. “I shall
have you now. Then, I shall dry you up & store you…I shall concentrate on you till I
learn to love you the way she had…maybe then, she’ll love me too…yes…yes, it makes
sense…my science shall be a success…I shall love everything soon”, muttered the man,
each word of his ringing with a forcefulness, a purposefulness & with murder in his
heart, he neared The Creature & raised the branch…
The Creature was suddenly fearful…afraid of what was to come…
Wham!
The man struck before it could react…
Critically wounded, The Creature passed in & out of consciousness, barely taking in the
shifting landscapes as the man walked back to the city with it.
While it took its first & last steps away from its Valley…its home, The Creature thought
only of her…
As the life went out of him forever, it had just one thought in mind…"Why did they kill
me so soon? Why wasn’t I allowed to mature into a tree?"
*********
I
The cells of the zygote were fast dividing & differentiating…soon, a new living,
breathing organism came into existence…& waited for the right moment to announce its
arrival to the world.
For the next few days, it stayed dormant, drawing from its abundant food reserves &
hungrily lapping up the rainwater, surviving & waiting…just waiting & waiting…
Finally, after days of continuous rain, the rim of the red-pink sun peeked out over the
horizon, bringing with it a new dawn.
The first golden rays of the sun nudged the sleeping creature lazily. It yawned, sniffed in
the fresh early morning air & pleased with it, peeked out of its bed. At last, it was ready
to reveal its existence to the world & as it took its first baby steps into the big, bad
world, it was met with a wonderful sight…before it, stretched out the valley, bathed in
shadow & sunlight, & behind it, the hill rose high into the sky, almost touching the
infinite heavens…
The Creature was intrigued & shouting out to its cousin, two fields beyond, it asked,
“Who’s He, oh sister? The one who looms over us, like the devil?”
The Sister’s sweet, experienced voice filled the valley, “He is the Guardian Hill, oh
newborn! He is to be feared & respected above all in the valley. One shake of His can
uproot several of our colonies, it’s true. But, what’s also true is that it is He who
protects us from the wrath of the Wild West Wind, the devourer of Valley members!”
“And He…Who’s He that is so stooped & twisted?”enquired The Creature.
“That, child, is Old Man Banyan,” replied the Sister, amused at the naïve curiosity of the
newest addition to the Valley Family, “He provides food & lodging to several of our
brothers & sisters, free of cost so that he may be able to live his last years in the joy of
having constant company!”
The Creature was amazed & its hunger to know more grew. Every day, it would ask
Sister about various members of the Valley Family & she would faithfully answer all his
questions, all except one, that is…
II
One fine day, when The Creature had turned much older, it shouted, “oh Informative
sister…where is Brother Peacock today? Why hasn’t he come out yet to spread his
wings & dance in the rain? Sister…oh, sister, why are you not replying to my questions?
Sister...sister...”
But Sister was afraid…afraid & unsure…on one hand, she knew why Brother Peacock
hadn’t come out, but on the other hand, she was sure that it wasn’t the right time yet to
tell The Creature about it. So she chose to remain silent…hoping that The Creature’s
curiosity wouldn’t lead it to the same fate as that of Brother Peacock & so many
others…
Days passed & The Creature’s curiosity grew. It wondered…about Brother Peacock
who hadn’t shown up despite the ceaseless rains…about the unusual absence of
Sister’s chirpy voice…& also, about the new She-Creature who’d been born & brought
up in the neighboring field!
The Creature was aware of a new awakening, a new consciousness within itself.
It talked to Little Cousin Mouse about it, initially shy to reveal its feelings about the
She-Creature but gradually warming up to the subject.
“You are on the threshold of reproductive maturity, oh shy one! What you are feeling is
what each of us feels, it is what causes us to be able to receive only certain, & not all,
gametes to carry forward our kin…this chemical imbalance is called ‘Love’, oh innocent
one!” revealed Little Cousin Mouse.
“Love!” whispered The Creature, feeling a growing happiness, a strange excitement
within itself.
“Yes, love…Oh! I must go now, oh young one, my love is calling me! All the best with
yours!”
Months passed…
The Creature felt itself going through a very critical phase of its life.
It found itself waiting for the rains, just so that it could get washed & hence, could feel
fresh & new.
It would feel Her presence even while dreaming & felt that it was only its roots that kept
it from approaching her.
But it decided that it would wait…wait till it became good enough for her, deserving of
her. It wanted time to pass as quickly as possible so that it could grow fast & reach the
maturity required for its love to prosper.
If only time could have slowed down, or even stopped…if only…
III
Sister Sparrow felt a strange uneasiness within herself, which dis-enabled her from giving
out her usual morning call. She felt worried, only she wasn’t able to pinpoint the cause
or reason for it.
And then, she spotted him…he who was a part of those whom she & the other valley
creatures feared the most…
The Creature turned towards the sun, breathing in the fresh morning smell, gratefully
feeling the sunlight on itself after days of rain.
The man thankfully sat down under the old banyan tree, tired after his long walk up the
valley from the city. Mopping up the sweat from his brow, he looked up, gazing at the
thick & lush canopy that filtered the harshness of the sunlight to a much softer green. He
breathed in the cool, fresh air, thinking of her…of his Dodo…what had he done to
deserve all this, he wondered. He, who’d always loved her so passionately, so
selflessly…
“Damn it!” he exclaimed angrily, “to hell with it, Dodo. I shall destroy that which you
loved the most just like how you destroyed me. I’ll call it my ‘Science’ of love…I’ll
show you & all of them who talked about me, about us…as if it’s that easy to forget, to
forgive…I’ll show you…you!”
It was in such a frame of mind that the man spotted The Creature, who looked peaceful,
fresh & new in the early morning sunshine…the exact opposite of what the man was
feeling…
He went to sit next to it, admiring its youthful flexibility as it danced in the cool breeze.
“Yes!” he said, “I shall have you. You are just perfect, exactly like how Dodo would've
liked. I shall have you…yes, I shall have you!” The Creature, who uptil now had been
looking at this unknown organism with detached curiosity, saw him with an awakened
interest. “Have me…what does he mean by it?” wondered The Creature, “Is he going to
make me meet ‘her’…I wonder…”
The man got up, looking for an appropriate object…he spotted one nearby – a sharp
branch. He picked it up & walked slowly, purposefully towards The Creature. “I shall
have you now. Then, I shall dry you up & store you…I shall concentrate on you till I
learn to love you the way she had…maybe then, she’ll love me too…yes…yes, it makes
sense…my science shall be a success…I shall love everything soon”, muttered the man,
each word of his ringing with a forcefulness, a purposefulness & with murder in his
heart, he neared The Creature & raised the branch…
The Creature was suddenly fearful…afraid of what was to come…
Wham!
The man struck before it could react…
Critically wounded, The Creature passed in & out of consciousness, barely taking in the
shifting landscapes as the man walked back to the city with it.
While it took its first & last steps away from its Valley…its home, The Creature thought
only of her…
As the life went out of him forever, it had just one thought in mind…"Why did they kill
me so soon? Why wasn’t I allowed to mature into a tree?"
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